Hayes' Family Wants Songs Back

The singer's back catalogue, which includes classics such as Do Your Thing and Theme from Shaft, was sold for $30,000 (GBP15,000) on the orders of a court following his bankruptcy in 1976.

Now his relatives are planning to recover the rights to the material - which is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in royalties - to provide financial security for his widow and two-year-old son.

An elder son, Isaac Hayes III, says, "He definitely was done wrong. I'm very passionate about that (providing security for the family). If that means me trying to get my father's material back, I'm all for it."

Hayes' solicitor, Allen Arrow, says, "I can't rule out litigation... I would hope that we can retrieve a good part of what he lost."

And Lance Armstrong, president of Rondor Music, which owns the publishing rights to Hayes' songs, added: "He lost millions, and it was morally and ethically wrong to take it from him. He was devastated."

The soul singer died from a stroke earlier this month (Aug08).